Singtel Starts Asia Gaming Tournament in Digital Content Push

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest telecom services provider, will start a regional competitive gaming league as part of its diversification into e-sports and digital content.

The inaugural PVP eSports Championship will be held in Singapore this October with a prize pool of $300,000, Singtel said in a statement. To be streamed on Singtel platforms, the tournament will be set up with e-sports players such as Razer Inc., Activision Blizzard Inc. and Sea Ltd.

Singtel said the tournament signaled its ambition to "foster a vibrant e-sports ecosystem and community" with Singtel Optus and regional associates Bharti Airtel Ltd., Advanced Info Service PCL, Globe Telecom Inc. and Telkomsel.

“We want to engage the largely millennial consumers across our regional footprint,’ Arthur Lang, Chief Executive Officer of the international group said.

Singtel, which has a market capitalization of about $40 billion, has sought to grow in new industries as competition encroaches on its traditional businesses. Its stock has fallen about 24 percent since city regulators announced plans to facilitate a fourth carrier in Singapore three years ago. TPG Telecom Ltd. is expected to start offering mobile services this year. Singtel derives 24 percent of its sales from non-telecom businesses.

To contact the reporter on this story: Livia Yap in Singapore at lyap14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sebastian Tong at stong41@bloomberg.net

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